From: Madagascar Presidency Date: 2010/1/24 PRESS RELEASE STATEMENT FROM H.E. MARC RAVALOMANANA January 24, 2010 The leader of Madagascar's illegal coup regime is attempting the impossible: to re-write recent history in an effort to blame the international community, not himself, for Madagascar's nightmarish woes. Only a tyrannical dictator would hijack a country at gunpoint; oust democratically-elected leaders; commit grave human rights violations; and bring the nation to the brink of social, economic, and political ruin. Incredibly and ironically, the coup leader proclaims himself a champion of democracy and the masses, while banning opponents from the political process, reneging on political agreements, and laying the groundwork for sham elections, defying the wishes of the Malagasy people and the world for the return of genuine democracy and constitutional order. Since the coup in Madagascar last March, the international community – the United ...